Dr Amelia Draper

Evaluation and Learning Lead for Changing Futures, Nottingham Framework

Dr Amelia Draper is the current Evaluation and Learning lead for Changing Futures Nottingham, a programme that aims to improve the lives of people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage (SMD; the simultaneous experience of three or more of the following: poor mental health, homelessness, substance use, contact with the criminal justice system, and domestic or sexual violence and abuse) through one-to-one support and local system change activity which aims to improve the quality and accessibility of support in services (e.g. primary care, housing, mental health services, the police, the emergency department, probation). Amelia co-produces research with people with lived experience of SMD to evaluate the Changing Futures programme and make recommendations for improvement. She also identifies areas of need that may have been missed, to help steer the direction of change.

Amelia gained a PhD in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience in 2012 from the University of Nottingham. Her research focused on young people with Tourette’s Syndrome and related neurodivergence. Preceding this, she accomplished a master’s degree in Cognitive Neuroscience, with a specific focus on Neuropsychology and acquired brain injury. She also spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, researching motivation and apathy in deprived communities, before returning to Nottingham to join the homelessness charity Framework.

Amelia leads a collaborative workstream on Neurodivergence and SMD for Nottingham’s Place Based Partnership. She uses her knowledge of research and lived experience of neurodivergence to advocate for improvements to SMD related services to take in to account the needs of neurodivergent people, and delivers training to upskill the workforce on neurodivergence in relation to multiple disadvantage.